Edmund Waddill Jr.

Edmund Waddill Jr. (May 22, 1855 – April 9, 1931) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia, and later a United States federal judge.

Early life and education

Born in Charles City County, Virginia, Waddill was educated by private tutors and attended Norwood Academy. He was a deputy clerk of the courts of Charles City, New Kent, Hanover, and Henrico Counties and of the circuit court of the city of Richmond. He studied law at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and read law in 1877 to enter the Bar, entering private practice in Hanover County, Virginia from 1877 to 1878, and in Richmond, Virginia from 1878 to 1880. He was a judge on the County Court of Henrico County, Virginia from 1880 to 1883, resigning to take the position of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1883 to 1885.

Legislative career

Waddill was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1885 until 1889. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress, but he successfully contested the election of George D. Wise to the Fifty-first Congress, serving as U.S. Representative from Virginia from April 12, 1890 to March 3, 1891. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890, instead resuming the practice of law in Richmond, Virginia from 1891 to 1908. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1892 and 1896.

Federal judicial service

On March 10, 1898, Waddill was nominated by President William McKinley to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Robert W. Hughes. Waddill was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 22, 1898, and received his commission the same day. On May 26, 1921, he was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Jeter Connelly Pritchard. Waddill was again confirmed by the United States Senate on June 2, 1921, and he received his commission the same day (although his District Court service was technically not terminated until June 9, 1921).

Waddill served on the Fourth Circuit until his death, in Richmond, Virginia. He was interred in Hollywood Cemetery.

Sources

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

• "Edmund Waddill Jr.". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• Edmund Waddill Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.